Revival!!!
Over the last several weeks we’ve been a part of several conversations regarding revival. News is spreading of various events that are being called “revivals” throughout the United States. What makes this topic at this time rather stirring for us, is that both those who are professing believers, and those who are not believers are taking notice.
In contemporary news, revival seems to be defined as any expressly spiritual gathering that is lasting longer than usual. I need to emphasize this for all considerations and conversations from here moving forward. A precise definition of revival is rarely stated in the midst of these discussions. I can’t blame news outlets for this lack of a solid definition. The common traits of what is being described as revival today include extended singing, extended praying, and extended public gatherings with a special sense of the presence of God.
Revival is therefore somewhat amorphous as a term and phenomena in the current lingua franca of western culture.
Is a hymn sing a revival? No, I don’t think anyone would describe a set time of gathered singing to be a “revival”.
Is a prayer meeting a revival? No, otherwise I think we would have many more speaking of their weekly “revivals” that take place in the prayer meetings in small groups, mid-week gatherings, and the like.
Is a church pot-luck that went exceedingly well and went on for a few extra hours then a revival? I doubt it, otherwise every time a game of “capture the flag” or lengthy discussions after a meal of gathered believers would qualify as “revival”.
Maybe these examples are a bit too simplistic. Perhaps revival has more to do with a felt special presence of the divine. Yet, even this definition leaves much to be desired. Does every encounter described as an extended period of felt presence of the divine qualify as a revival?
Is something which states openly that it is a “revival” automatically a “revival”? It would seem that many gatherings take place each year with specific promotional names including the word “revival”. With its own wikipedia page, Christian revival meetings are generalized as consisting of “several consecutive nights of services conducted at the same time and location, most often the building belonging to the sponsoring congregation but sometimes a rented assembly hall, for more adequate space, to provide a setting that is more comfortable for non-Christians, or to reach a community where there are no churches.” (see Wikipedia - Revival meeting - Wikipedia)
Notice this definition makes a revival meeting generally about what many would call evangelism or outreach. Revival is not (as wikipedia states it generally) about professing Christians, but is primarily about preaching to groups who are not yet believers.
Justo Gonzalez in his fabulous 2 volume “Story of Christianity” speaks of revival in connection with D.L. Moody and his preaching ministry in urban contexts (particularly around Chicago and London). Moody’s preaching was focused on repentance and salvation offered in Jesus Christ. His wide reach of revival preaching was something of a phenomenon and, as Gonzalez says “the revival became part of the American urban landscape”.
Today, gatherings that are self-proclaimed “revivals” can be found in almost any urban area. Over the last few weeks, we’ve noticed a surge in various meetings, events, or conferences being renamed, rethemed, or using “revival” language to take advantage of the cultural “buzz”.
One way of measuring just how widespread the topic of revival is presently, is to check with google search term trends. According to google, since 2004 the search term “revival” has had a few peaks, and the current cultural moment is nearing one of those peaks.
Part of the difficulty in observing and discussing the so-called “revivals” that are in the news of late is the lack of a common definition. Some have said that a revival is a particularly large and extended time of evangelistic efforts, similar to the crusades of Billy Graham from decades past. With this framework in mind, revivals are akin to mass conversion events. Others have noted that revival first occurs among believers, stating that believers coming to experience a fresh outpouring of God’s presence, and spiritual blessing is paramount to a revival. Still, others do not state that either conversion or a special feeling of God’s presence are foundational for a revival, but rather genuine conviction of sin leading to repentance is the hallmark of revival.
This has led to some deep discussions in our household about the work of God, the Holy Spirit in particular, and church history. These discussions have fleshed out a few questions which have helped us in conversations about revival. Below are a few of those questions:
Is revival more connected to regeneration (IE conversions of new believers) than it is to reformation (IE believers returning to God’s word and ways)?
Is revival discernable in the moment, or does it take time to observe the fruits of an event to then accurately describe an event?
What events are worth adjusting, or forsaking God-given responsibilities to attend?
What events are worthy of calling revival in church history, and what events are not worthy of the term?
As we have had these discussions and asked these questions, we have found a few biblical examples helpful to go back and consider:
In 2 Kings 22 Josiah becomes king in the midst of an extended period of spiritual unfaithfulness. During Josiah’s reign, a copy of the Pentateuch is found by Josiah’s Secretary (2 Kings 22:8). This rediscovery leads to a period of national revival, starting with the King, the nobles, and spreading throughout the districts under Josiah’s rule. This was not a moment where sin ceased within the life of national ancient Israel, but it was a moment of great repentance, and returning in devotion to the Word of God (2 Kings 23).
In John 3, Jesus has a late-night conversation with Nicodemus. This conversation details the absolute necessity for a person to be born again of the Spirit to see the kingdom of God. While this isn’t a mass conversion event or a moment of spiritual national renewal, this conversation is foundational for our understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of the individual. Apart from the birth of the Spirit, we are left without hope. The Spirit is also not to be controlled, but Jesus compares the Spirit to the wind (John 3:8).
In Acts 2, the details of the first Christian Pentecost after the ascension of Jesus are recorded. This is perhaps the most remembered and celebrated evangelistic, mass conversion event in the New Testament. With public preaching and calls to repentance the Apostles bore witness to the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Thousands were added to the number of believers in a single day (Acts 2:41).
In 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul speaks much of the gifts of the Spirit and their uses and benefits. The worship in the Spirit Paul instructs the Corinthians to carefully maintain is for the mutual edification and building up of the people of God. The gifts and experiences of the Spirit are not (in a group setting) purely for the benefit of the one experiencing the gift of the Spirit, but rather, are for the benefit of the entire group including believers and unbelievers observing (1 Corinthians 14:12;24-25)
We are glad for the conversations we’ve been able to have with many people from different walks of life over the last few weeks. We don’t have all the answers to questions related to revival, but we have benefitted and grown in the confidence of the greatness and faithfulness of our mighty saving God.
The Lord is sovereign and can and does save whomever he wills. Each of us is born again under various circumstances. Some within covenant families, being raised to never know a day apart from the Lord. Others late in life after many years in spiritual deadness. It is our continued prayer that the Lord would draw many to himself for his glory, use us as witnesses of the grace of God, and that we would be privileged to witness the great works of God on display in our generation.
If you would like some more solid, historic resources on the topic of revival, please see the following:
https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-revival-and-where-do-we-find-it
Beg God to Move Again: Seven Marks of True Revival | Desiring God